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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0561.008 2014-2016Murashiqe, Laura From: hawaiideborah <hawaiideborah@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, November 16, 2015 9:43 AM To: Council Testimony Cc: Poindexter, Valerie; Chung, Aaron; David, Maile; Onishi, Dennis; Ilagan, Greggor; Paleka, Daniel; Kanuha, Dru; Eoff, Karen; Wille, Margaret Subject: Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit. Resolution Comm. 561 November 16, 2015 CD � To: The Hawai'i County Council CD Re: written testimony Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit Resolution Comm. 561 "Discussion on the Hawai'i Island Humane Society Euthansia and Adoptability Rates" Aloha Chairman Paleka and Council Members, -- I am a former Big Island Dog Rescue team member, volunteer and donor. I was very involved with BIDR for 3 months, until I became aware of their questionable strategies, tactics and actions. Currently I volunteer for Aloha Ilio Rescue and at Kea'au HIHS as a photographer. BIDR has refused to sign the HIHS partnership agreement that was created to protect Big Island animals. Instead, Tasi Autele adopts dogs under his own individual name, as a private citizen. I am against HIHS adopting to any individual if there is evidence that these individuals are trafficking dogs to other organizations on the mainland and not adopting for their own personal ownership. The HIHS partnership agreement has post adoption reporting requirements to account for every dog the rescue partner adopts. But BIDR will not sign the partnership agreement and thus, BIDR does not have to account, track or verify any dog they traffic to the mainland. See exhibit A, section 2 under Post Adoption and exhibit B The Hawaii dogs that Big Island Dog Rescue sends to the mainland are not accounted for. BIDR has sent the bulk of the dogs they adopt to Columbia Humane Society in St. Helens, Oregon. BIDR will not give any accounting of what happens to the dogs once they reach the mainland. BIDR has stated that Columbia Humane Society is their hub for transfers of Hawaii dogs out to other shelters (rather than directly placing them in forever homes). We want verification that the dogs from HIHS are going to families and not being funneled through Columbia Humane Society or other mainland shelters to somewhere else and just disappearing. BIDR needs to be required to report the list of dogs they traffic to the mainland with updates on the dogs' current, status and outcomes. This is what is required in the HIHS rescue partnership agreement. BIDR needs to fill out the HIHS post adoption form and provide tracking information for each dog, just like the other rescue' organizations do. I fa Ref. To: $ 1 Ref. Date UDV 1L„ -Old 5 HIHS documents the outcome for each animal who comes through their shelters. Transparency leads to credibility. BIDR needs to be accountable for the animals they adopt from HIHS by providing documentation and verification of every animal they adopt. BIDR claims their objective is to reduce the euthanasia rate at the HIHS. However, they want to do this by adopting out dogs that only fit within their "formula", not the actual dogs that are difficult to place. Tasi Autele presented the Big Island Dog Rescue "formula" as: "Medium dogs less than 40 pounds, not black, not pits, under 5 years, good health, no aggression. Doesn't cower. This said, we can send 1 out of every 10 can be pit, 1 every 7 can be black, 1 out of 7 can be over 40. pounds, 0 can be aggressive". It is the senior dogs who are in poor health, the dogs who have the bad skin conditions, the nervous dogs who don't like being petted who don't get adopted. BIDR cherry picks the most adoptable dogs for their program and to the mainland. BIDR's formula leaves behind the dogs that are often overlooked by the general public. Then BIDR blames HIHS for euthanizing these dogs that BIDR won't take. HIHS needs to stop allowing dogs to be adopted by BIDR until BIDR will account and verify the status and outcome of the dogs it has adopted from HIHS, which is what is expected of any rescue organization partnering with HIHS. Any individual or organization adopting an animal with the intent to transfer it to another rescue organization must comply with with HIHS post -adoption requirements of the partnership agreement. If you are not adopting this animal for the sole purpose of it being your personal family pet, you need to submit the verification info that the HIHS post -adoption contract asks for. Thank you for your consideration, Deborah Hillman Resident District 4 Full time Kea'au resident for 5 years Rescue animal advocate for 25 years Member Orchid Isle Dog Agility Current donor and volunteer for Kea'au HIHS Current donor and volunteer for Aloha Ilio Rescue Former donor, volunteer, supporter and team member of Big Island Dog Rescue Attachment: exhibit A See "Post Adoption" paragraph ii: 0 Attachment: exhibit B See "Rescue Partner's Adoption Outcome Status Report": I" c *0000 Verizon O—F* m M 0 5 61 z. 0 0 0 2 014 records.( r7 PDF /2" L2-1 -i ,-Zoom Tool View Plain ext tuS R4 R",,e�,uto r s Adopt on, Oul I , 5 741 f 2 3